Conformal Appliqué Antennas for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Aircraft

In this Phase I project Pharad proposes to create a family of thin, flexible conformal appliqué antennas that can adhere to the exterior skin of UAVs and aircraft. The flexible radiating assemblies will support FM, VHF TV, and UHF TV signal transmission/reception and be able to mount to a variety of airframes without requiring modification of the aircraft structure. We will analyze the flexible material and adhesives for the proposed appliqué antennas to show they can withstand harsh airborne operating environments and meet RF power handling requirements. The material will also have novel RF isolation properties within it to ensure the antenna can operate independent of its location on the airborne platform and meet radiation coverage and efficiency requirements. The antenna assembly will include an integrated feed mechanism design that provides a robust universal interface to the PSYOPS avionics. We will also develop a concept of operations that includes maintenance, installation, and logistics concepts for the lifecycle of the family of appliqué antennas. Finally, we will confirm the predicted performance through fabrication of a proof of concept prototype of the radiator, adhesion to a non-planar aircraft surrogate, and measurement of the RF characteristics, including gain, radiation patterns and return loss.